VOA流行美语 Unit 85: LIVE IT UP / YEAH RIGHT

Michael因为家里有急事而匆匆走了。今天，Michael的好朋友Larry和Li Hua在一起谈到Michael。Li Hua会学到两个常用语：live it up和Yeah right!

LL: Hey Li Hua. You look unhappy. What's up?

LH: Michael原来计划下个月去中国学中文，可是他突然家里有急事要他马上去，所以他只好直接从家里去北京了，我都没有机会跟他说再见。I hope he'll be O.K in China.

LL: Of course he'll be O.K.! I bet right now Michael is living it up in China.

LH: 哎呀，你说什么呀！Michael现在人已经到中国了，他当然是living in China啦！

LL: No, no, Li Hua. I said that he is "living it up in China". To "live it up" means to live a fun and extravagant lifestyle, like a rich person who is always partying and never has to work.

LH: 噢，live it up意思就是"尽情享受生活"，就好像有钱人可以过奢侈的生活一样。唉，Michael他是个穷学生，他哪能像有钱人那样过日子呀。

LL: Well, as a foreign exchange student, he doesn't have to worry about paying for tuition, or rent or food, because he's already paid for it... so in China, for just a few dollars a day, he can live it up!

LH: 真的？参加交换项目去中国留学，学费、食宿都不用自己付啊！Larry, 那你当初在北京留学的时候肯定也lived it up喽？

LL: Oh, we had fun alright. We usually didn't have a lot of homework, and didn't have to go to work, so on the weekend, we had plenty of time to live it up!

LH: Hmm, 功课不多，又不用打工，这么说，你们大老远跑到中国，说是去留学，其实是去过逍遥日子、尽情享受去啦？

LL: Hey, I didn't say we didn't study! We got to live it up while we learned Chinese.

LH: 哎哟，和你相比，我在美国的留学生活可就没那么自在了。

******

LH: (sound of cell phone ringing) (speaking into the cell phone) Hello? Michael! 你好吗？哎呀，中国现在的时间是半夜了吧？还是我明天再给你打吧！Michael, 你学完一年回来的时候，你的中文肯定要比Larry 强。 Sure. Have fun! Bye bye! (cell phone shuts off) Larry, Michael said to tell you "hi".

LL: You think Michael's going to speak Chinese better than I? Yeah Right!

LH: 你说什么？Yeah Right! 从你说话的口气看，你是在说反话吧？也就是说，你根本不相信我说的话？

LL: You've got it. I said "yeah right" When someone says "yeah right" like this (uses sarcastic tone of voice) "yeah right" or this "yeah right", it means they don't believe something is true, or don't agree with something.

LH: 你看，我猜对了吧！听你的口气就带着讽刺的意味。怎么，你觉得一年以后Michael的中文不会超过你啊？可是Larry, Michael比你更用功呦！

LL: Yeah, right! I lived in China for two and a half years. I'm practically fluent in Mandarin. Michael can't catch up with me in just a year.

LH: 什么？你自以为你的中文讲得流利？Yeah right! 虽说你在中国呆过两年半，Michael他只有一年的时间，可是只要他用心听课，认真完成作业，他的中文肯定能超过你。

LL: You think someone can learn Chinese just by going to class and doing homework? Yeah right! I learned more spoken Chinese by living it up and hanging out with Chinese friends than I did in class.

LH: Hmmph. 我看Michael他也挺喜欢交朋友的，他肯定也能找到好多人练习中文会话。

D: Yeah right! But he'll never catch up with me!

L: Yeah, right!

今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是live it up, 表示"尽情享受生活"。另一个是Yeah right, 这是带有嘲讽口气的反话，表示不相信对方。